


First Meeting

by satyrgod



Category: Subarashiki Kono Sekai | The World Ends With You
Genre: i just wanted to write about how josh and hanekoma met, pre-game, vaguely alludes to my slew of josh headcanons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-07
Updated: 2016-06-07
Packaged: 2018-07-12 19:02:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7118644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/satyrgod/pseuds/satyrgod
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Josh has always been able to see strange things that nobody else could see. What do you think he's going to do when he sees someone else who does? Naturally, he's going to go and harass them for information.</p>
            </blockquote>





	First Meeting

As Joshua walked down Cat street, two boys barrelled past him, followed shortly by a few strange looking frogs. He expected no one else to pay it any mind. They never did. Really, it was quite frustrating to Josh that he was the only one to see these creatures and people. However, this time, after a quick sweep of the street, he noticed a man in front of a cafe followed the boys with his eyes as they ran past.  
  
Joshua, for once in his life, felt excited. Finally, someone saw! Maybe they had some sort of explanation, and even if not, just speaking about this would FINALLY be something interesting in his dull life. He strode over to the man, easily portraying someone calm and collected rather than the excited child he felt like inside.  
  
“Excuse me,” Josh said to the upon closer inspection, barista looking fellow (worker at the cafe maybe?), “You saw those two gentlemen running past, didn’t you?”  
  
The man looks at him, with a bewildered expression on his face. It’s almost as if he’s surprised Joshua talked to him at all.  
  
“…I got no idea what you’re talking about, kid.” He said, before starting to walk back into the café. “And I got work to do, so I don’t really have time to talk.”  
  
Josh followed him into the empty café, seeing his hunch about the guy lying to get him to leave was correct. He’s been down this way before and no one is EVER in here. What ‘work’ could he possibly have right now?  
  
“I saw you look directly at them. And… Whatever it was that was following them too. Do you know what they are?” Joshua asked, sitting down at the man’s counter as he began to clean already perfectly clean coffee cups, clearly only pretending to work so Joshua would leave.  
  
“Still got no idea what you’re talking about, kid. I didn’t see any guys running down the street, and nothing following anyone either. And don’t just loiter around in my store either, OK? I got a business to run.”  
  
“You know, I AM a Shibuya local. And I know that hardly anyone ever comes into this place. Surely you can spare a little time to chat.” The man sighed, putting his cup back on the shelf.  
  
“You’re a real tenacious one, aren’t you? Dunno why I should chat with someone who’s gonna insult me like that either..” Regardless, he leans on the counter, pinching the bridge of his nose and sighing again before he continues talking. “You’re alive, right?”  
  
Josh nodded slowly, and the barista continued.  
  
“You must have quite the Soul if you can see the UG while living in the RG.. Do you know anything about the UG?”  
  
“I have no idea what anything you said means, if that answers your question.” Josh replies cooly, though inside he’s BUZZING with excitement at finally being able to get some answers.  
  
“Nothing at all, huh?” Joshua watches as the man walks over to the front of the store and flips the sign to ‘Closed.’ “This is gonna be a hell of a lot of explaining then. What’s your name kid, and how old are you?”  
  
“If you’re going to ask someone’s name, isn’t it customary to introduce yourself first..?” Joshua asked, as the man walked back behind the counter.  
  
“..I assume that means you won’t tell me yours until I tell you mine.” Joshua simply smiles at the man, indicating that he’s correct. “Well you’re a smug one, aren’t you? Alright, alright, my name is Sanae Hanekoma. You can just call me Mr. H, and frankly, my age isn’t all too important. Old enough to own this café, that’s about all you need to know.”  
  
Josh nodded, deciding that’s good enough for him, for now. The man looked to be around his early 30s, and the specific age wasn’t exactly important to him.  
  
“The name’s Yoshiya Kiryu, but Mother and Father call me Joshua. I suppose you can too, as I gather we’ll be seeing a lot of each other from here on on out, hee hee.”  
  
The man nodded, asking Joshua what he knew and what he’d seen before this. Joshua responded in kind, telling him about the strange people and ‘animals’ he’d seen. He learned about something called the Reaper’s Game and, even more intriguing, about a position called the Composer.  
  
“So… the Composer is the one who runs the whole city?” Joshua asked, taking a sip from his coffee Hanekoma had twisted his arm into buying. He had said something about how it was rude to come in and not order anything. Luckily, money wasn’t a concern of Joshua’s, as he came from a rich family.  
  
“You got it, boss.” Hanekoma replied. “They decide all the rules of the game, and generally keep everything around here in check.”  
  
“And… How exactly do Composers come into power?”  
  
“Well… If a Composer is killed, whoever sent them off would end up the next one. Think of it as a succession, of sorts.”  
  
“How difficult would it be to do that?” Josh tried to pass this question off as simple curiosity, but a laugh from Hanekoma led him to think he’d seen through that. It’s not as if Joshua would go and try right now but.. It was certainly an option to consider. Especially since the city is clearly in terrible condition, perhaps it’s time for someone new to step up to the plate. Why not him?  
  
“Well, you’d be a real idiot to try, if that answers your question. The Composer is the strongest being in this place, you know. And, way more experienced than anyone else to boot.” Mr. H said this with a grin, but his eyes showed he was serious. Josh noted that the Composer would be something he’d need a lot of planning for.  
  
“Even more experienced than you?” Josh said, meaning it as a light hearted tease, but Hanekoma suddenly looked away from him. A sore spot? Is Hanekoma insecure about being weaker or… are there things he’s hiding from Josh? “Actually, out of all the things you’ve explained, I don’t think I’ve heard a thing about you other than your name.”  
  
Hanekoma took Joshua’s now empty cup from the counter, setting it aside. “Well, you know I’m the owner of this fine establishment, the café Wildkat. I’m just a simple guy who loves his beans. I’m a Pisces, born March 3rd, my blood type is A… Want me to tell you about my hobbies, next?” He ruffled Josh’s hair, much to his annoyance. “Try not to bite off more than you can chew, kid. I can’t tell you everything.”  
  
“Duly noted.” Joshua replied, not bothering to fix his already hopelessly messy hair after Hanekoma had messed with it. He glanced toward the window, noticing the sun was about to set. He didn’t think anyone would mind him being out late, but he didn’t particularly like to walk around the city at night. “I do believe it’s time for me to get going, Mr. Hanekoma. Though it certainly has been a pleasure, and I will definitely be coming back here.” He smiled, and Hanekoma nodded, giving him a little salute.  
  
“You’ll always have a seat in here, boss. Providing you prove yourself a paying customer, that is.” Joshua rolled his eyes, waving as he exited the café, beginning his walk home. He couldn’t stop the grin that overtook his face as he was leaving. The existence of the Underground was endlessly fascinating. Who knew there was so much that went on in Shibuya that no one else knew about?  
  
Joshua hardly slept that night. He was far too busy imagining what he could do if he was the one in charge. He could make Shibuya so much better, so much more interesting. For once in his life, he couldn’t wait for the next day.  



End file.
